Modern court complex in Indore again hits roadblock

The Madhya Pradesh government’s plan to construct a modern district court complex in Indore has again run into troubled waters – this time its decision to allot 20 acre of land of the Agriculture College has attracted criticism from agriculture scientists, research scholars, students, college alumni and social activists.

Earlier the construction of the court complex next to the Pipliyahana Lake, faced opposition from environmental activists and city residents, forcing the state government to rollback its decision.(File photo)

The Madhya Pradesh government’s plan to construct a modern district court complex in Indore has again run into troubled waters – this time its decision to allot 20 acre of land of the Agriculture College has attracted criticism from agriculture scientists, research scholars, students, college alumni and social activists.

Earlier the construction of the court complex next to the Pipliyahana Lake, faced opposition from environmental activists and city residents, forcing the state government to rollback its decision.

The Agriculture College, situated on Pipliyahana Road was established in 1924 and was known as the Institute of Plant Industry. The British developed the “Indore method of composting” at the institute, which is accepted as an ideal system of preparing organic manure the world over.

“English botanist and pioneer in organic agriculture techniques Sir Albert Howard conducted a survey of the Malwa region and selected this piece of land as the best suited for setting up of an agriculture research institute,” said TGK Menon , environmentalist and Padma Shri awardee for contribution in the field of introduction of environmental-friendly irrigation and farming techniques.

On one hand the Centre and state governments talk about the betterment of farmers and agriculture, stress on development of new agriculture techniques and research, and on the other hand its decision to allocate 20 acre of the institute’s land for constructing a modern court complex will prove to destroy the institute completely, said KC Gupta, the secretary of the alumni association.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on many instances has said that promoting the agriculture sector was his primary motives, but the recent decision, which can destroy an agriculture research institute raises a question mark on his priorities, said Akhilesh Saraf, president of alumni association of the college.